How Did It All Begin? E-commerce from Scratch and Being an All-rounder.

Hello everyone! I am building my personal blog here, and this is my very first post. Naturally, I felt the need to start by introducing myself a little and talking about my journey. You might be embarking on a somewhat long journey in this post, but I’ll try to keep it as brief as possible. Let’s dive in without going back to the dawn of humanity: I’m Mehmetcan Karasac, born in Istanbul in 1989. And this is my story :)

EARLY YEARS AND AN UNRELATED CAREER

Throughout my school years and until the end of my university life, I was a successful student. Since I had been involved in sports from a young age and pursued a professional sports career, I chose the Faculty of Sports Sciences. I graduated as an honor student from a double major program in Sports Management and Coaching Education, followed by completing my pedagogical formation to become a certified teacher. For many years, I worked as a personal coach and facility manager in various sports centers and complexes, later continuing my career as a physical education teacher. During this time, I had the opportunity to provide elite-level coaching to many famous names and professional athletes.

HOW DID IT ALL BEGIN?

Just before the pandemic (those were very dull times for all of us, I hope we never experience them again), I had an idea constantly gnawing at my mind: starting and managing my own business. This wasn't due to classic white-collar burnout, like working 9-to-5 or being dependent on a salary. I just constantly had ideas in my head, and I was afraid of getting stuck somewhere because I couldn't bring them to life. However, leaving my comfort zone, chasing my dreams, and knowing how difficult it would be also intimidated me. Since I was a child, cosmetic products, sportswear, and shoes have always fascinated me. So much so that at a young age, I would design tracksuits and sneakers in my head for big brands like Adidas and Nike and daydream about them. The colorful, exaggerated, and sometimes minimalist and simple packaging of cosmetic and personal care products always caught my attention. Probably because I’ve always been obsessed with being clean.

SMALL STEPS AND SOME HURDLES

It was time to put my plans into motion, and I really wanted to learn e-commerce. I started with online videos and training and drew up a roadmap for myself. I was buying sports apparel wholesale and selling them through my Instagram store and online platforms in Turkey (Amazon, Trendyol, Hepsiburada). People in the textile industry will understand me better, but unfortunately, this is a sector where returns are very frequent. This is a factor that negatively affects the sales of small-scale sellers like me. I was so surprised and confused the first time I saw customers ordering every size of a single product—until I realized they kept the one that fit, returned all the other sizes, and charged the shipping costs to me, making me lose more than I earned :) Or, I witnessed multiple times how a product was worn for weeks and returned on the last possible day, dirty and sometimes full of holes.

I had to change my sector and strategy. During this time, I started researching international markets and, naturally, focused on the biggest one: Amazon. I attended countless training programs, both in-person in different cities and online. Then, by reaching agreements with wholesalers, I continued by selling cosmetic products abroad. Unfortunately, during this process, Turkey and our currency were rapidly losing value against the Euro and Dollar. My purchasing costs increased, but my profits in the markets where I sold did not, so I was closing the day with a loss.

Marketing other people's brands and selling established, trusted brands was easy. But I had also been introduced to the idea of "Private Label." Building your own brand! How fascinating! Even the thought of it filled me with excitement.

BUILDING YOUR OWN BRAND 101

Unfortunately, I didn't have a mentor by my side during any of my processes, and I had to learn everything on my own. I will explain these in more detail in the future.

I had gained knowledge and experience in the cosmetics industry and products, and I wanted to build my own brand on this foundation. But which product would I choose within such a wide range?

I am in love with animals and nature. I have a great respect for the environment, and at that time, I had started sorting my trash at home (normally there is no such legal requirement in Turkey) and composting some of it. Because of my dogs, I preferred nature and camping holidays, took plenty of trash bags to the beaches I visited, and cleaned the environment. Therefore, my product had to be environmentally friendly. During this research, I discovered "solid shampoos."

CONTACTING MANUFACTURERS AND A BIT OF A WAR OF NERVES

While researching these products, I also got in touch with manufacturers in the country. I spoke with many company owners over the phone, introduced myself, and explained my approach. Some couldn't meet my criteria, and others didn't fit what I was looking for. More interestingly, three companies I felt close to stated they were hesitant to share their products and formulas for fear I would become a competitor, and then they gave me astronomical purchase and production price quotes. I won't lie, this situation discouraged me a lot and also made me a bit angry. I guess it was up to me now, and I had two paths. I would either produce this product myself or give up on this dream.

COINCIDENCE? OR MURPHY’S LAW?

One day, while driving in traffic, a vehicle caught my attention. It had company information written on it; I immediately noted it down and started researching at home. I learned that there was a manufacturer near me. I requested a meeting, prepared my presentation, and presented it to them. They liked my idea, but their massive production lines were too big for a small entrepreneur like me. I couldn't even meet the minimum production quantities. However, they still wanted to help me. I told them that I wanted to get to know the industry and learn the processes of this product, and they hired me as an intern. In this adventure, I was learning the trade from wonderful people in the lab during the day and supporting production processes, while at night, I was learning digital marketing and design. This meant that in the future, I could work with them on a more professional level and different business doors would open—but I wasn't aware of it yet.

The first steps of Kirei were already being taken. I’ve saved that for my next post. We are setting sail into a bigger and wavier sea. Let's meet in my next blog post... :)